Go Back For Murder Review
Go Back For Murder
Performed by The Official Agatha Christie Theatre Company
at Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford
Monday 11 – Saturday 16 March 2013
Reviewed by Christine Charlesworth
On Monday, 11 March I visited the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford, to review this play.
‘Go Back for Murder’ is the tenth production from the Official Agatha Christie Theatre Company and is one of Christie’s last plays, first performed at the Duchess Theatre in 1960. Based on her novel ‘Five Little Pigs, written in 1942, the story was regarded as one of her finest, fusing together the psychological complexities of her characters with clever plotting. The action takes place in 1968 with flash-backs to the day of the murder in 1948.
Act One opens with Carla Le Marchant, played by Sophie Ward, visiting from Canada to speak with Justin Fogg, played by Ben Nealon, to ask his help in clearing her mother’s name. Carla’s mother, Caroline Crale, had died while in prison for killing her husband, but Carla has a letter from her mother, written just before she died, telling Carla that she was innocent. Justin is the son of Caroline’s defence lawyer, has now taken over his father’s business and was at the Caroline Crale trial.
Carla is determined to prove her mother’s innocence and with the help of Justin Fogg she is able to track down various people from her mother’s past.
During Act One the extremely well-designed set, by Simon Scullion, is transformed by clever use of lighting and minimal changes in props and furniture, while Carla remains in the spotlight, on stage throughout. We visit a hotel, a restaurant, a living room and an office. One by one, Carla persuades all those who were at Albury House on the day of the murder to re-visit the scene.
Act Two takes place at Albury House on the south coast in 1968 and on the day of the murder in 1948. Finally a shocking truth is revealed. The set was transformed beautifully to portray an artist’s studio with large French windows overlooking lawns and the coast. Unfortunately each time there was a ‘flash back in time’ the audience were subjected to blinding spotlights in their faces and loud flash noises. Also the lead-in music for both scenes was unnecessarily deafening.
With a cast of such well-known actors I was extremely disappointed with some of the performances. These ranged from a ‘wooden’ Mark Lisseman as Turnbull to an ‘over the top’ Lysette Anthony as Lady Elsa Greer and unbelievable ‘silly’ young girl, Sammy Andrews, played by Angela Warren. Make-up was also unprofessional with such large white daubs of paint on both earlobes of Amyas Crale, played by Gary Mavers, that I rather thought he was wearing earphones and I could not understand why the scar on the face of Sammy Andrews was so large and black. The performances of Robert Duncan, as Philip Blake, Antony Edridge, as Meredith Blake and Liza Goddard as Miss Williams showed good stage presence and obvious experience, but they were unable to redeem the production.
Rating: 3/5
For more information or to book tickets visit Yvonne Arnaud here.
